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Real Property • Present Possessory Estates
PROP#008
Legal Definition
A fee tail is a fee in which inheritability is limited to lineal descendants, and is created by the words "to A and the heirs of his body." It is abolished in most jurisdictions and attempts to create a fee tail are instead construed as fee simple absolutes.
Plain English Explanation
A fee tail is a conveyance to some specific person and their descendants. For example, if Bob wanted to convey Bobacre to Sam and all of Sam's children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren, etc. However, for this to work, Sam can't outlive his descendants. Under a fee tail, if Bob conveys Bobacre to Sam and Sam's descendants, but all of Sam's descendants die in a horrible plane crash leaving Sam alive and alone — if Sam dies without making more descendants, the fee tail reverts back to Bob (or Bob's heirs if he's dead).
This is an old-timey rule that most jurisdictions have gotten rid of, which means if you see a fee tail attempted in modern fact patterns, it acts the same as conveying a fee simple.
This is an old-timey rule that most jurisdictions have gotten rid of, which means if you see a fee tail attempted in modern fact patterns, it acts the same as conveying a fee simple.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Oz conveys Blackacre "to Amy and the heirs of her body." Amy has 1 son. A week after receiving the conveyance from Oz, Amy's son dies. Amy is filled with grief and, days later, dies. Result: Oz conveyed a fee tail to Amy. Under traditional rules, when Amy died with no living heirs, Blackacre would revert back to Oz's ownership. However, under most modern jurisdictions, Amy would have received a fee simple, which would pass to Amy's estate upon her death.
Visual Aids
Related Concepts
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